ALBUM PRESS: "The Only Thing That Matters" - 2009
"Ellensburg’s Star Anna debuted last year with Crooked Path, a promising album of rootsy alt-country, and while the roots influence is still there on her 2nd album, Star and her band have cranked up the electricity, giving her emotionally scarred songs an additional rock ‘n’ roll punch. Her throaty, aching vocals sound better than ever, and the band earns their co-billing with tight, tough-sounding accompaniment. Crooked Path was a great beginning, but this one packs a mightier wallop". -Don Yates KEXP
"Perhaps most strikingly, there is no depth to which Anna's compositions cannot dive, and no topic is off the table here. The dire passion behind her vocals and the delivery of her lyrics are as earnest as they are unquenchable, which is precisely what makes this album so stirring" - Kim Ruehl, Sound Magazine
"As raw and powerful an album as you’ll hear all year... She and the Dogs deliver passion, grit and rock’n’roll and right now there really isn’t anyone out there to touch them." - Jeremy Searle, Americana UK
"There is such a technical proficiency to the album and such confidence radiating from Star Anna when she sings, it can at times seem aloof — but then her voice cracks with emotion as she begs you to hold on and she seems as fragile, as tough. There is something delightfully complex about Star Anna, something that makes you want to listen more closely." - Abby Simmons, Sound on the Sound
"They have the talent to flawlessly break your heart with alt-country gems and getting you rocking with a 1970s vibe. Star's lyrics come off like she is at risk with her honesty, but she is valiant in her efforts to dust herself off and get back on her feet again." - Innocent Words Magazine
"Her band, the Laughing Dogs, frame Anna's impassioned voice in an Americana embrace that elevates and underline's the singer's delightful mix of sweet sincerity and husky gravity. When it comes to dulcet sounds, Star Anna is among the ripest around." - Shawn Telford, seattlepi.com.
DEBUT ALBUM PRESS: "Crooked Path" - 2008
"All in all, this may be the best debut album of 2008" - Americana UK
"Star & the Laughing Dogs, have become one of the most reliable fixtures in the Northwest music scene over the past year or so"... "these guys are pros" - No Depression
"This is one of the finest debut releases it has been my pleasure to hear." - Twang Nation
"This album will blow you away" - Spill Magazine
"She delivers her message with strength, significance and earnest emotion." - West Coast Performer Magazine
"The release of her debut album...should put this regional star on a much larger map." - Portland Tribune
"The new Queen of Torch and Twang!" - Mark Pickerel
"Twangy, lonesome, haunting Northwest alt-country." - Seattle P-I
OTHER ACCOLADES:
Voted Best New Artist and Best Female Vocals by On Magazine, Nov 2007
Crooked Path voted Best Album of 2008 by Tupelo Honey Radio Show on KRVM FM, Dec 2008
"Five Minutes to Midnight" on Zune's "Best of 2008: Country" and "Best of 2008" lists, Dec 2008
CMT Blog feature by Craig Shelburne, Mar 2009
